The gentle blending of Yasu Eguchi of the artist and the man is reflected strongly in the collage of muted colors and feathery shapes in his landscapes. His pieces are composed of more than flowing brushstrokes and soft daubs of watercolor—they mirror his fantasies and experiences as well. Eguchi’s paintings give the illusion of landscapes abstracted from reality in dazzling snowy scenes of mountains, streams and valleys. His treatment of rocks and trees as simple shapes give his works a collage-like feeling, supported by his use of intercross texturing, an Eguchi trademark.

Touching every aspect of his life, Eguchi’s artistry is painted as naturally and inseparably into his character as the patchworks of trees in his crisp snowscapes. Living for Eguchi is creating—the artist and the man are one. “The artist is no different than anyone else,” he explained. “Each person creates his own way. It is only that the artist has chosen to express himself with art. That is how he makes his personal statement.”

Born in Japan in 1938, Eguchi grew up during the catastrophic years of World War II and the painful time of rebuilding afterward. “…I can say simply that my war experience has given me one important thing: appreciation. I am appreciative now that I don’t have to worry about being hungry, about getting food before I can get paint. Starvation was everywhere then, even in the richest homes… The ugliness of that time has allowed me now. This is why I paint.”

Even when has was a small boy, art played a leading role in his life—creating was a natural part of him. He said, “I have always had the desire to be an artist, though I haven’t always known what it means to be an artist. Many people say, ‘Yes, I want to be an artist,’ and when I was a child I answered exactly the same. But I had no idea what an artist is—it is not only someone who likes to draw or brush or paint. It is creating, and there is that second dimension of craftsmanship.”

Eguchi started on his own road to success in Japan, working in Western tradition as an Abstract Expressionist. From 1963 through 1966, he exhibited in many leading galleries in Tokyo, selling a considerable number of his works. His future as an artist seemed assured, and Eguchi was content. However, his move to the United States in 1967 began a long period of struggle for Eguchi, not only with the transition to the new American culture, but also with his own identity as an artist. “When I first came to Santa Barbara, everything was new to me. My only security was that I could paint—I was an artist. But my work at that time was only transporting information onto paper in the abstract style that was in fashion. My paintings were only surface.”

In 1969, Eguchi moved to New York and began a deep personal identity search for a style that would be uniquely his own. It was a very difficult period for the talented artist, for in addition to his inner struggle, he still was grappling with the adjustment to the radically different American culture.

”During my first few years in the country, my painting was very American—the hamburger, the cowboy, that type of concept. I closed my eyes and woke up to the realization that I am Japanese, and I cannot change that.” Eguchi then began a transition period of three or four years in which his work constantly went through a natural process of change. Responding to his own inner challenge, he chose to abandon the safety of his successful and well-accepted style. The result is a unique and poetic blending of Eastern and Western tradition—the bold impressionism of the West and the sensitive calligraphy of the East. With his reawakening of Japanese influence, Eguchi now uses only paper and watercolors, when previously he worked in canvas and oils.

Eguchi’s treatment of subject matter in his works involves more than it would first appear. The artist explains that he uses the landscape as a communication object. “My paintings are not landscapes. You see a landscape when you view my paintings, but I am reflecting my thoughts and consciousness in that painting. Nature is the easiest way for me to communicate. I don’t want to be complicated in my paintings, I want to be very natural. Everything in my paintings is a reflection of my own fantasy, but other people look at my works and see something different. They can build their own fantasy, create their own world in my watercolors. Since thousands of years before civilization, mankind has grown up with nature—we have always seen those trees as our friends. We can communicate with nature, and this is how my paintings always come out as landscapes. There are many trees in the soul.”

Eguchi’s attitude toward his future as an artist is summed up in his advice to art students. He maintains that change is a part of the artist’s profession that is carried through a lifetime—a process that continues beyond success and recognition. “You have to work. You have something more, and you have an obligation to yourself to perform. If you are going to be an artist, you must try until your death. Life is only lived once—why shouldn’t you spend it with your passion?”